Traffic Star Development Program

Chapter 74 is pretty good.

The film crew was in the suburbs, and by the time they arrived in the evening, the sun was already setting.

Today's filming scene is Xie Yong'er's first appearance and her direct confrontation with Yu Wanyin.

For the outdoor scene, in the Imperial Garden, the set design team had built artificial mountains and flowing water in advance. The main camera was positioned on the left side of the artificial mountain, with the focus track circling halfway around.

Chu Ran had already walked through the scene once, her hair ornaments dangling, when she reached the designated spot. She stepped on the ground, glanced in the direction of the camera, and confirmed the position with the script supervisor.

Peng Bing was behind the monitor, telling the cameraman the angle three times, and the cameraman readjusted the tripod.

"Chu Ran," Peng Bing said without looking up, "Xie Yong'er's performance in this match is a test. Don't reveal your hand too early. Yu Wanyin's first reaction will be confusion, and then she will make a judgment. Take your time."

"Yes, I know."

"Those two seconds of confusion need to be genuine, not acted out."

Chu Ran lowered her head and thought for a moment, then nodded.

The first rule is to follow the order.

The actress playing Xie Yong'er moved steadily, delivered her lines cleanly, and perfectly timed Chu Ran's reactions—those two seconds of genuine bewilderment, followed by the rapid calculation in her eyes, and finally, Yu Wanyin's nonchalant calm.

Peng Bing called out, the cameraman played the footage, and the two of them huddled together on the monitor, watching without saying a word.

The second option was a backup plan. Peng Bing instructed Chu Ran to tone down the latter half a bit and not make the calculations too obvious.

Chu Ran returned to the starting point, stretched his shoulders, took out his phone to check the time, and then looked down to scroll through WeChat.

Tian Xiwei posted a message, which was a screenshot of a Weibo post about Xu Kunkun, with the caption: "Did that trainee from the company go on a show today?"

Chu Ran replied, "Yes, this is my first time recording today."

Tian Xiwei: "People outside say he's no good."

Chu Ran: "Just wait and see. The people our boss signs are usually pretty much the same."

Tian Xiwei: "Is this unconditional trust or just laziness in thinking things through?"

Chu Ran: "...A little bit of both."

Tian Xi sent a laughing-crying emoji, then asked, "What time do you finish work today?"

Chu Ran glanced at the filming schedule and replied, "Not sure, maybe around eight o'clock."

Tian Xiwei: "I have a posture class tonight. Shall we end our video call?"

Chu Ran: "Okay, you go to class first, I'll check on the situation on set."

She put her phone away, walked back to the starting point, smoothed down the ends of her hair, and nodded to Peng Bing.

"bring it on."

The second one is approved.

Peng Bingrang will stop here for today and continue with the second half tomorrow.

The scene where Xie Yong'er and Yu Wanyin exchange coded messages has a higher density of dialogue, so we'll dedicate a whole block of time to it.

Chu Ran put on her coat, picked up her backpack from beside the camera car, the zipper was open, and half of her Shanghai Theatre Academy's modern literature textbook was sticking out of the side pocket, which she casually stuffed into it.

Xu Wen, who was packing his things nearby, glanced at the textbook and asked, "You have class tomorrow?"

"The day after tomorrow," Chu Ran said, "but there's a short paper due."

When will it be handed in?

"The day after tomorrow morning."

Xu Wen calculated the date; the day after tomorrow is Wednesday. "You tonight—"

"I'll write it when I get back." Chu Ran slung her backpack over her shoulder. "No rush, I can finish three thousand words."

Xu Wen opened his mouth slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but held back. He put today's notice into the folder and didn't ask any more questions.

Chu Ran walked towards the parking space, took two steps, and turned back: "Sister Xu, what time is the first show tomorrow?"

"Join the crew at 8:30."

"Okay." She turned back, pulled her backpack strap up a bit, and walked towards the car.

Zeng Hao didn't stay on set for long. When he arrived, the second take had just finished, and he stood behind the monitor watching the replay for a while.

Peng Bing pointed to a certain frame: "Chu Ran did a good job here. Look, the sense of calculation is completely hidden."

Zeng Hao watched that frame for two seconds.

In that frame, Yu Wanyin turned her face to the side, her gaze directed at Xie Yong'er, but her focus wasn't on Xie Yong'er's face—it was on something that didn't exist behind her, and she only looked away two seconds later.

It only took two seconds, but the information was accurate.

"Um."

Peng Bing said a few more words about the filming arrangements for tomorrow. Zeng Hao listened for half of it, then his gaze fell on the time code in the upper right corner of the monitor: 17:43:22.

Chu Ran has already left.

Just now, when she passed by the monitor, her backpack zipper wasn't closed properly, and part of her textbook was sticking out. She was walking briskly, and the textbook bounced in the side pocket but didn't fall out.

He didn't say anything.

Peng Bing was still talking when Zeng Hao turned his gaze away from the monitor and picked up his coat.

"Xie Yong'er has a lot of lines to say in tomorrow's performance," he said, "so we'll have two cameras ready."

Peng Bing nodded and wrote it down.

Zeng Hao walked towards the door, and Xu Wen followed, whispering beside him, "Chu Ran said she has to submit her paper the day after tomorrow, so she'll go back and write it tonight."

"Um."

"Ten thousand words, she said she could finish writing it—"

"Um."

Xu Wen glanced at him and then shut up.

After leaving the film set, the car was parked outside. Xu Wen opened the back door, suddenly remembered something, rummaged through his bag, pulled out the schedule for today's recording, and handed it to Zeng Hao: "Oh right, Xu Kunkun, that reporter today—"

"I know."

"Several comments on Weibo have started saying he's got some skills—"

"Um."

Xu Wen put the process sheet away, got into the car, closed the door, thought for a moment, and couldn't help but ask, "So what do you think of his performance today...?"

Zeng Hao took out his phone, and the screen lit up.

It's a Weibo post from an entertainment account, with just over 500 reposts. The content is a candid photo from today's recording, with a different caption: "Trainees from a small company? I suggest you read this first before you comment."

The first comment, with over two hundred likes, reads: "I'll follow you first, whatever."

Zeng Hao turned his phone over, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

Xu Wen, who was in the front row, glanced back but didn't see his expression. He turned back, fastened his seatbelt, and muttered, "Honestly, it's so hard to get an answer."

Xu Wen pushed the phone screen towards him without saying a word.

These are three screenshots, showing the same article published on three different accounts within a 40-minute time difference. The titles were changed three times, but the core content remained the same—"An insider revealed that a talent show urgently filled in artists from a small agency with an incomplete training system and no prior formal debut experience. The show's internal staff had doubts about the quality of the replacements."

The photos weren't named, but they were taken outside the recording studio, at an angle that showed the waiting area. Xu Kunkun's profile was in the bottom right corner; it was blurry, but you could still recognize him.

Zeng Hao scanned the three screenshots from beginning to end.

Which numbers?

Xu Wen listed three account names: two were entertainment gossip accounts, and one was an industry observation account, with a fan base ranging from two to three hundred thousand to eight hundred thousand.

Zeng Hao returned the phone to her.

He knew these three accounts. Not because he had an inside source, but because this combination had appeared more than once.

When Dingsheng has something to release, the first wave is always these three, with a very precise timing, within forty minutes of each other, as if someone is timing it perfectly.

"Should we issue a statement?" Xu Wen asked.

"Not issuing it."

"That--"

"Let's compile the data from the day Xu Kunkun recorded the show," Zeng Hao said. "The duration of applause on set, the length of time the camera lingered on him, and the natural growth curve of the Weibo topic after the recording ended. Three sets, one page."

Xu Wen jotted down a few keywords on his phone and looked up: "Who should I send this to?"